TV tonight: ‘Scandal’ launches its final gasp-worthy season

Kerry Washington returns as Olivia Pope in the final season of "Scandal" on ABC.

TV picks for Thursday, Oct. 5

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NFL football (5:25 p.m. PT, CBS): The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, who suddenly appear to be vulnerable, travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers.

“Gotham” (8 p.m., Fox): Gordon takes matters into his own hands when he travels to Miami in attempts to persuade Carmine Falcone for his help in the fight against Penguin. There, he meets Carmine’s (guest star John Doman) daughter, Sofia (Crystal Reed), who unexpectedly follows Gordon back to Gotham. The battle for Penguin’s prized weaponry continues during auction night at the Iceberg Lounge and Bruce’s presence puts him on Penguin’s radar.

“Scandal” (9 p.m., ABC): Gladiators, prepare yourself for the long good-bye. The crazed Beltway drama launches its seventh and final season, and Olivia has a tough call to make tonight in order to avoid an international incident only 100 days into Mellie’s presidency.

“The Orville” (9 p.m., Fox): Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron guest stars on tonight’s installment of the space saga. She plays the attractive captain of a stranded ship saved by the Orville. Naturally, Ed becomes smitten with the new guest, while Kelly suspects all is not what it seems.

“Van Helsing” (9 p.m., Syfy): As Season 2 gets underway, Vanessa and Mohamad search for Dylan while Dmitri’s citadel crumbles around them. Flesh acquires an unexpected ally in one of the Resistance Fighters. Taka clashes with the Vampire Elite.

“How to Get Away With Murder” (10 p.m., ABC): While Annalise reconnects with an important client from her past, she continues to struggle to move forward in her personal life. Meanwhile, the “Keating 4” find it difficult to move past their tarnished reputations; and in a flash-forward, details to a tragic crime begin to unfold.

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“Broken” (BritBox): Sean Bean (“game of Thrones”) stars in this six-part drama that centers on Michael Kerrigan, a Catholic Priest in Northern England. Publicly a confidante, counsellor, and confessor to his community, Kerrigan is privately facing an internal struggle to balance his faith with the harsh realities of daily life. Yet his tentative hold on sanity begins to spiral out of control when tragedy hits a local mother of three and it pushes him to his breaking point.

“Rillington Place” (Sundance Now): This chilling three-part scripted drama stars Tim Roth and Samantha Morton and is based on the real-life multiple murders carried out by John Christie (Roth) in Notting Hill in the 1940s and 50s. Presenting each episode from separate viewpoints, the miniseries highlights the subsequent tragic miscarriage of justice, which led to Timothy Evans being hanged for a crime he did not commit and helped lead to the abolition of capital punishment in Britain.

“SuperMansion: Drag Me to Halloween” (Crackle): In this new stop-motion animated special, the League of Freedom experiences all the fun and adventures of Halloween. It’s Titanium Rex’s (voice of Bryan Cranston) least favorite night of the year, fraught with beautiful ghosts, demonic spirits, evil dentists, and even some unforeseen attractions mixed in.